Click on this link to switch between the Modern pagination for this edition and Foxe's original pagination when searching for a page number. Note that the pagination displayed in the transcription is the modern pagination with Foxe's original pagination in square brackets.

Find:

Type a keyword and then restrict it to a particular edition using the dropdown menu. You can search for single words or phrases. When searching for single words, the search engine automatically imposes a wildcard at the end of the keyword in order to retrieve both whole and part words. For example, a search for "queen" will retrieve "queen", "queene" and "queenes" etc.

MarginaliaAnno. 1557. Nouember.sented and detected vnto him for heresie, errors, and vnlawfull opinions, which thou didest beleue, set foorth, and holde.

Marginalia2.Secondly, that thou before the sayd Ordinarie, didst openly and iudicially confesse the sayd heresies, errours, and vnlawfull opiniōs, as appeareth plainely in the actes of the court, had and made before thy sayd Ordinarie.

Marginalia3.Thirdly, that thou after the premisses, didst make thy submission in writing, and diddest exhibite and deliuer the same as thy deede, to thy sayd Ordinarie: openly cōfessing and recognising they heresies, errours, vnlawfull opinions, and thine offenses, and transgressions in that behalfe.

Marginalia4.Fourthly, that thou after the premisses, diddest promise vnto thy sayd Ordinarie voluntarily and of thine owne minde, that alwayes after the sayd submissiō, thou wouldest in all pointes conforme thy selfe vnto the common order of the Catholicke church obserued and kept here in this Realme of England, and in no wise fall agayne to heresies, errours, or vnlawfull opinions.

Marginalia5.Fiftly, that thou since thy sayd submission, hast willingly fallen into certayne heresies and errours, and hast holden and set foorth diuers vnlawfull opinions, to the right great hurt of thine owne soule, & also to the great hinderaunce and losse of diuers others, especially agaynst the sacrament of the altar, agaynst confession auricular, with other the Sacramentes of the Catholicke church.

Marginalia6.Sixtly, that thou since the sayd submission, hast willingly gone about diuers places within the dioces of Lōdō, and sowen diuers hereticall, erroneous, and blasphemous ballets, and wast apprehended and takē with the sayd ballets about thee, and committed to prison.

Vnto all which articles the sayd William Sparrow aunswered in effect as hereafter followeth.

Marginalia1. 2. 3. 4.
MarginaliaHis aunsweres to the articles.TO the first, second, third, and fourth articles he answered affirmatiuely, as thus: that he was presented and detected to Boner, vnto whom hee made his submission. &c. as in the articles.

Marginalia5.To the fifth article, hee aunswered, that if hee had spoken agaynst them, he had spoken but the truth: for they bee naught, meaning the contentes of the sayd article.

Marginalia6.To the sixt, he graunted to the article, adding that he did sell the sayd ballets then shewed and red before him, and that the same did conteine Gods word.

After which aunswers the sayd William Sparrow was sent vnto prison. And the same day in the afternoone, being produced before the Bishop agayne, and there charged with his said submission, made the yeare before vnto the Byshop, he aunswered thus: I am sory (sayd he) that euer I made it, and it was the worst deede that euer I did, adding further vnto thē: Holde vp your abominatiō so long as ye can. Also being layd vnto him, and charged by the Byshop that he went to church, and there was confessed and heard Masse, the sayd William Sparrow made aunswere and confessed, that he did so, but with a troubled cōscience he said, God knoweth. And speaking further to the Byshop, he sayd: that which you call truth, I doe beleue (sayd he) to bee heresie. And also the Byshop chargyng hym againe with the contentes of the fifth article aboue named, he aunswered that he had so done, as is conteined in the same article, and so will doe againe if he were at liberty. And being further demaunded of Boner, whether he would persist and continue in the same, or no: he made aunswere that he would not goe from his opiniōs: and adding therunto, he sayd: that which you call heresie (speaking to the Byshop) is good and godly, and if euery heare of my head were a man (sayd he) I would burne them all, rather then to goe frō the truth.

Then being demaūded what ground of learning he had to cleaue to his opinions, he made aunswere and sayd, that all the lawes now vsed (meaning the ecclesiasticall lawes) are nought and abominable. And further, thereunto he sayd: that the Masse is nought and abominable &c.
MarginaliaSentence red against Williā Sparrow.Which wordes being spoken, the Byshop immediatly red the sentence of condemnation vppon him, and so deliuered him to the secular power, by whom he was sent to prison agayne.

Richard Gibson had an unusual history, which Foxe only hints at. He was, at least by birth, a member of London's elite. His grandfather, Sir William Bayly, had been lord mayor of London in 1534-5, while his father was a royal sergeant at arms, bailiff of Southwark and a master of the Merchant Taylors. Gibson was, as Foxe relates, imprisoned for debt and while imprisoned he was denounced to Bonner as a heretic. What Foxe does not relate is that Gibson was a freewillerwho was converted to what Foxe regarded as 'orthodox' (i.e., predestinarian) convictions (On Gibson's background and religious convictions see Thomas S. Freeman, 'Dissenters from a Dissenting Church: The Challenge of the Freewillers, 1550-58' in The Beginnings of English Protestantism, ed. Peter Marshall and Alec Ryrie [Cambridge, 2002], pp. 140-41 and 149).

MarginaliaRichard Gibson, Martyr.WIth the other two aboue named, suffred also in the same fire, Richard Gibson, who first was cast into the coūter in the Pultry (where he had

bene prisoner by the space of two yeares for suretiship in a matter of debt, & then stoode vpō his deliueraūce) then vpon suspition and euill wil was accused to Boner, for that in the prison he was neuer confessed nor receaued at the Popish aultar: by reason whereof hee was called for, and susteined diuers & sundry cōflictes and examinations in the cause of his faith and religiō. But first he semed to make a certayn submission

Notice Foxe's disingenuous phrasing here; Gibson did not seem to recant; he recanted. The last page of another recantation by Gibson survives among Foxe's papers (BL, Harley 425, fo. 122r). Its relation to the recantation mentioned by Foxe is unclear; but it is dated 27 October 1556, which means that it is not the same document which Foxe described.

A copy of this confession is among Foxe's papers: BL, Harley MS 425, fo. 3r.

but because it seemed something to differ in wordes from the other, it appeareth not to be receaued: or whether it was receaued or no, it is not fully certayne. This is certayne, that although his submission was in the Bishops Register recorded,

It is not in Bonner's register; it must have been recorded in a court book, which is now lost.

yet he was not deliuered out from imprisonmēt till the day of his burning. The Articles first obiected and ministred vnto him by the Bishop, were these.[Back to Top]

¶ Articles obiected and ministred to Richard Gibson by Boner Byshop of London.

Marginalia1.
MarginaliaArticles against Richard Gibson.FIrst, that the sayd Richard Gibson prisoner in the Coūter in the Pultry in the Dioces of Londō, hath otherwise then became a faithfull Christian man and a good subiect of this Realme of England, behaued him selfe in wordes and deedes, in diuers conditions and pointes, contrary to the order, Religion, and fayth of Christes Catholicke church, and contrary to the order of this Realme, to the pernitious and euill example of the inhabitauntes of the Citie of London, and the prisoners of the prison of the sayd Counter in the Pultry, and greatly to the hurt and dammage of his owne soule, offendyng especially in the Articles followyng. By reason whereof the sayd Richard Gibson was, and is of the iurisdiction of the sayd Byshop of London, and subiect to the sayd iurisdiction, to make aunswere to his offences and transgression vnder written, accordyng to the order of the law.

Marginalia2.Secondly, that the sayd Richard Gibson hath vnreuerently spoken agaynst the Pope, and Sea and Church of Rome, and likewise agaynst the whole Church of this Realme of England, and agaynst the vij. Sacramentes of the Catholicke and whole Church of Christendome, and agaynst the Articles of the Christian fayth here obserued in this Realme of England, and agaynst the commendable and laudable Ceremonies of the Catholicke Church.

Marginalia3.Thirdly, that the said Richard Gibson hath commended, allowed, defended, and liked, both Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley, and also all other heretickes here in this Realme of Englād, accordyng to the Ecclesiastical lawes condemned for heretickes, and also liked all their hereticall and erroneous, damnable, and wicked opinions, especially agaynst the Sacrament of the altar, and the authoritie of the Pope and Sea of Rome, with the whole Religion thereof.

Marginalia4.Fourthly, that the said Richard Gibson hath comforted, ayded, assisted and mainteyned both by wordes and otherwise, heretickes and erroneous persons, or at the least suspected and infamed of heresies and errours condemned by the Catholicke Church, to continue in their hereticall and erroneous opinions aforesayd, fauouring and counsellyng the same vnto his power.

Marginalia5.
MarginaliaQueene Maries religion disproued.Fifthly, that the sayd Gibson hath affirmed and sayd that the Religion and fayth commonly obserued, kept, and vsed nowe here in this Realme of England, is not good and laudable nor in any wise agreable vnto Gods word and commaundement.

Marginalia6.
MarginaliaThe booke of Englishe seruice.Sixtly, that the sayd Gibson hath affirmed that the English seruice, and the bookes commonly called the bookes of Communion, or Common prayer, here set forth in this realme of England in the tyme of K. Edward the sixt, were in all partes and pointes good and godly, and that the same onely and no other ought to be obserued and kept in this realme of England.

Marginalia7.
MarginaliaMattens, Masse, Euensong, refused.Seuenthly, that the sayd Gibson hath affirmed, that if he may once be out of prison and at libertie, he will not come to any parish church, or ecclesiastical place to heare Mattins, Masse, Euensong, or any diuine seruice nowe vsed in this realme of England, nor come to procession vpon times and dayes accustomed, nor beare at any time any Taper, or Candle, nor receiue at any time Ashes, nor beare at any time Palme, nor receiue Pax at Masse time, nor receaue holy water, nor holy bread, nor obserue the Ceremonies or vsages of the Catholicke church, here obserued or kept commonly in this realme of England.

Click on this link to switch between the Modern pagination for this edition and Foxe's original pagination when searching for a page number. Note that the pagination displayed in the transcription is the modern pagination with Foxe's original pagination in square brackets.

Find:

Type a keyword and then restrict it to a particular edition using the dropdown menu. You can search for single words or phrases. When searching for single words, the search engine automatically imposes a wildcard at the end of the keyword in order to retrieve both whole and part words. For example, a search for "queen" will retrieve "queen", "queene" and "queenes" etc.